Previously, bicycle cable locks when not in use have primarily been stored in either a cargo bag or device attached to the bicycle, coiled around the tubes comprising the frame, or on the body of the rider. This makes use (retrieving, uncoiling, locking, and subsequent stowing of the lock after use) time consuming and difficult. External storage of the lock can also cause chipping of the bike's paint finish. External storage of the coiled or uncoiled cable lock is also aesthetically undesirable for appreciating the overall design of the bicycle. External storage is also unfavorable aerodynamically and weight wise for those riders concerned with optimum equipment performance, one major aim of this invention.
Thereafter inventors created several lock designs that addressed ways to conceal the lock and cable attached thereto. U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,741 shows a solution to the concealment and stowing need, employing the internal bore of the handle bars as the storage area; however this lock is: prohibitively heavy, involves permanently installing lock components to the handle bars, and requires a complicated multi-stage process to deploy and use involving unattached parts. Further, it features a short maximum cable length, an inability to detach the lock completely from the bike to allow for minimum bicycle weight and other security uses, and substantially adds to the length of one of the distal ends of the handlebar—a safety concern due to interference with the riders knees during peddling. Additionally the complicated design of the locking mechanism would be expensive to manufacture and adds unnecessary weight and difficulty in its permanent installation needs.
Additionally U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,273 proposes a simpler design that is primarily aimed at securing ski poles by using the tubular bore of the pole for a storage location. Its application would not be applicable in its proposed design due to the exposed metal components that would allow for paint damage to expensive bicycle frame members along with potential for injury to the rider. Its design is also unable to comply with the need of secure affixement in the handle bar during the vibration caused by riding. Additionally, the long loop created by the crimped and folded end of the non-locking end of the cable would not successfully navigate the multiple curves of the interior bore of road bicycle handlebars during insertion and retrieval.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,098 allows for insertion and retrieval of the cable into multiple curved handlebars but requires the use of a clamp-on, heavy, keyed lock that is shown attached to the outside of a bicycle frame tube member. This defeats the need for aerodynamic and aesthetic invisibility. No provisions have been included to keep the cable from moving out of the handlebar due to vibration during bicycle use.
A lightweight combination lock and concealed storage in the tubular interior of vehicle handlebars is featured in U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,843. However, in the design additional weight is added by making the design a self retracting one utilizing linked chain and having the chain retract for storage in two parts utilizing both open ends of the handlebar. This design is prone to failure due to its use of springs and additionally introduces safety concerns due to the exposed combination lock and its mating toothed lock pin exposed during bicycle use. This configuration of the design exposes the rider's body to sharp metal surfaces and makes that eventuality more likely as it adds to the effective length of the handlebar toward the rider. This design additionally requires permanent installation, difficulty in retrieval of failed components, the inability to remove the lock entirely for maximum bicycle lightness, and the inability to remove and employ the lock for securing accessories or other bike components away from the immediate area of the handlebar. Noise and rattling would probably be a detraction during use in the lock's storage mode as the chain and retraction springs would interact with the interior bore of the handlebar.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,186,576 the safety problem regarding rider's knees of the previously addressed designs is solved but weight continues to be a design problem due to the use of a keyed lock utilized and its need for large metal components. The lock is cumbersome to use due to the need to unlock and retract a lock body, flip of one of the cables from rear to front orientation, remove one cable ball end, carefully replace the ball end after wrapping the cable about the item to be secured, and reinsert the lock and lock with a key. The design necessitates a manufacturer's alteration of the handlebar end to have a close tolerance hole drilled into the dorsal side of the aluminum or carbon fiber handlebar near one end opening. This is an operation that few bicycle owners would be prone to do themselves or have done. Having handle bar tape on the bars would prevent visual inspection of the locked or not locked nature of the locking pin positioning. The user is also tasked with finding the location of the hole to align with the locking pin to allow insertion and securing by key turning. The design also presupposes that one size lock body fits all handlebar interior bores, which is decidedly not the case. No aspect of the design allows for adaptation of the lock body to varying interior bores of existing handlebars. A close tolerance fit is essential for the reliable operation of this lock
U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,883 addresses some of the drawbacks of the aforementioned prior art but introduces its own distinct disadvantaging features. A more compact design is proposed utilizing a combination lock with a flexible shackle cable and a depressing button release to free the cable end from the lock body. This design again needs to be constructed with substantial amounts of metal making it heavy for weight conscious riders and requiring portions of it to be permanently attached to the handlebar. In this design the inventor suggests that a needed sleeve mounted permanently inside of the handlebar for lock storage should be attached with adhesive. The inventor does not account for the many different interior diameters found in the range of handlebars available and the need to supply the needed close tolerance fit for the aforementioned sleeve.
The depressing button needed to release the cable end is shown protruding out of the end of the end of the handle bar, raising the aforementioned safety concerns for the rider. Spring loaded detent balls engaging into annular grooves in the interior bore of the sleeve are proposed to secure the lock housing. The ball idea, magnets, spring fingers or thread solutions additionally offered as securing options would all pose problems in the available space available in the interior bore of most handlebars. These complicated mechanical solutions for securing the lock housing introduces the likelihood for common failure due to the miniaturization needed, the relatively high amounts of contaminates exposed to outdoor equipment, and the tolerances needed between the sleeve and the lock housing. The proposed design again exposes the rider to injury due to the metal protuberances and the considerable additional effective length of one end of the handlebar facing the rider.
Undesired weight is added from the design's additional components to the traditional two piece combination lock design featuring a toothed pin mating axially into a lock body with spinning numbered lock rings, see U.S. Pat. No. 1,472,206. Additional lock parts are needed to interact with the pawl mechanism associated with the cable end caps. Contamination commonly found in outdoor environments is sure to hinder reliability of this device due to the many additional moving parts and reliance on small spring components.
The shown length needed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,883 for the entire sleeve-lock body-cable caps configuration would not fit into the approximately 2 inches of length available in the straight distal section of most road, or “rams horn” shaped bicycle handlebar ends. After this straight approximate two inches, the interior bore bends acutely upwards and prevents insertion of rigid straight objects.
A similar invention idea was proposed with U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,704 using a combination lock that controls the release of a latch body on a free end of a flexible shackle and inserted in one end of a tube, typically a bicycle frame member or ski pole. This effort suffers from the same weight gains as U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,883 as it requires additional locking components than a common cylinder combination lock and additionally features a screw operated mechanical securing feature.
The distal end of the lock features a large round knob that must be turned to secure or release the lock from the interior bore of the tube. The twisting either expands a rubber plug that engages the interior bore and locks the lock in place or releases the squeezing on the plug which contracts and assumes a smaller diameter and releases, and allowing the lock to be pulled out of the bore of the tube. This time consuming, mechanical solution requires additional components such as the screw, a mating threaded nut, a sufficiently large knob to turn, and a large dense rubber plug. The more moving parts of this design with its springs, plunge pins, screws, friction surfaces, rubber components and small in size locking surfaces all add up to more reliability and maintenance problems which add up to reduced security, all undesirable for a locking security device.
This invention solves all the above problems of prior art by completely storing the entire cable lock within the unused interior bore of the bicycle's handlebar while allowing for lightweight, simple design, low cost and ease and speed of use plus additional advantages. Its features allow for easy retrieval, use, and stowing with no additional aerodynamic drag added to the bike. The invention does not introduce any sources of potential injury to the rider. Its completely disappearing storage mode enables the bicycle owner to have a visually unencumbered machine and the ability to carry a discreet security device to protect from theft. The lock adapts to any of the common interior bore sizes of handlebars. It does not compromise the structure of any bicycle component as no portion of it is permanently attached to the bicycle. The deployed lock can also be used for any number of security applications beyond use with a bicycle. These could include helmets, gloves, packs, clothing, etc.